Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. – A packed crowd at Witter Field couldn’t propel a Wisconsin Rapids Rafters (9-24) victory in their home finale as the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders (14-21) took them down 10-6. It was a game that the Dock Spiders led from the beginning, but the Rafters stayed in most of the way. Kerim Orucevic went 2-5 with a double and two RBIs for the Rafters while Jack Wiessinger finished the game with two scoreless innings, but Wisconsin Rapids couldn’t close the gap in the end.
The Dock Spiders offense started off hot, plating three runs in the top of the first on four hits off Rafters starter Kenny Schultz (1-4), chasing him from the game after the inning as he threw 36 pitches to get through it.
Ashton Poole took over for Schultz in the second, and although he allowed one run to come across, he proceeded to lock it down for the next two innings to keep it 4-0.
After Dock Spiders starter Noah Tschopp (2-1) retired the first nine straight batters, the Rafters offense heated up for a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth to make it 4-2 on a Landon Gaz RBI double and Jake Beauchaine sac fly.
Fond du Lac responded immediately, scoring two runs of their own in the top of the fifth off Wisconsin Rapids’ Poole, extending the lead to 6-2.
Tschopp got back to work for the Dock Spiders with a shutout fifth, but an error with two outs in the sixth scored two more unearned runs for the Rafters to cut the deficit to 6-4.
AJ Buenaseda dealt a shutout sixth for the Rafters, but the seventh didn’t go his way, allowing four runs on three Dock Spiders hits, putting them up 10-4.
Ryan Ament took over on the mound for Fond du Lac in the top of the seventh, relieving Tschopp who finished with a quality start, not allowing an earned run while striking out five. Ament picked up where Tschopp left off, holding the Rafters scoreless until the bottom of the ninth.
It was Orucevic’s two-RBI double that gave Wisconsin Rapids life in the inning, but Fond du Lac’s Ament induced a groundout to finish the game and earn the three-inning save (1).
The Rafters have just three games left this season, all of which are on the road. Next game will be at Fond du Lac and first pitch is scheduled for 6:35 P.M. The game will be broadcast for video on NWL+ and for radio on WFHR 97.5 FM/1320 AM.